KBA North America

Pantone Extends Brand Into Ink-jet Consumables CARLSTADT, NJ—Pantone Inc. is making a bid to expand the application of its color expertise by launching the PANTONE ColorVantage family of premium ink-jet inks, papers and specially developed profiles. The company initially intends to focus on the wide-format printing segment, and piezo-electric engines specifically, informs Andrew Hatkoff, vice president, Electronic Color Systems. Working in partnership with a third-party supplier, Pantone has developed a pigmented ink set (specially formulated CMYK plus light cyan and magenta) with a significantly larger color gamut than that offered by standard OEM inks, Hatkoff claims. Anticipating a potential concern, he adds that the

Komori Hosts Screening Seminar ROLLING MEADOWS, IL—Komori America recently hosted an educational seminar on screening technologies at its demonstration facility here. The second in the press manufacturer's series of "Survivor" seminars saw printers from around the U.S. learning about screening applications. Representatives from Creo, Enovation Graphic Systems and Screen (USA) were also on hand to present their screening technologies, Staccato, Co-Res and Spekta, respectively MBO/Muller Martini Co-host Second Open House WESTAMPTON, NJ—Building on the success of its previous joint open house, MBO America and Muller Martini held a second, even larger event recently that also featured running equipment and product information from Creo, hhs

New England Printer Makes First Move FITCHBURG, MA—Boutwell, Owens & Co., a 116-year-old manufacturer of custom-printed paperboard packaging, has ordered the first Mitsubishi Diamond 3000TP Tandem Perfector in the United States. The company expects to take delivery of the 10-color, 40˝ machine in March 2004 and have it operational by the following month. It features a unique streamlined Translink unit that neither turns the sheet over nor changes the gripper edge from the front of the sheet to the tail. The front side of the sheet is printed after the reverse side, with accurate registration maintained on both sides. california SAN LUIS

Bridging the Digital Divide BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Trade shows are supposed to be a forum for presenting solutions to meet the needs of attendees. What many people took away from workflow displays at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, however, was a bag full of questions . . . and maybe the odd poster or two, a foam sword, canisters of M&Ms, etc. That doesn't mean attendees weren't looking to buy. Exhibitors were more ardent than usual about the quality of the leads they were getting, and they claimed to also be pleased with the quantity. "Turned the corner" was a popular

Pressing Ahead By Mark Michelson Editor-in-Chief It's no secret that the stagnant U.S. economy has wrecked havoc on graphic arts industry suppliers the past three years. And, with many printers hesitant to make major capital equipment expenditures, sheetfed, and especially web, offset press manufacturers may have suffered the most of any industry segment. But—partly based on exhibitor reports from the recently completed GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO exhibition—interest in upgrading pressrooms and in the computer-integrated manufacturing concept (CIM) seem to be building. New press sales levels are still a far cry from the go-go '90s, but press suppliers at the show generally reported

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor With all the talk of excess capacity and declining sales, why would any printer consider buying a new press? First, the obvious reason. Capacity on an industry-wide level doesn't necessarily mirror the situation in a local market or any given company. There also is a more subtle rational that has grown in importance with the changes in business conditions. The pressures of a highly competitive market make it even more critical for a shop to have the right kind of capacity. Production efficiency and flexibility are more important than gross capacity. Sheetfed offset presses used to break down fairly

Xerox Corp. has received the 2003 IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition award for its work that created the DocuTech product line. The IEEE recognized Xerox "for its DocuTech product line, which unified digital electronics, computing and communications with xerography to create the print-on-demand industry," says Michael Adler, IEEE president. X-Rite Inc. has acquired the assets of Monaco Systems, a Massachusetts-based company that develops and distributes color management software to the graphic arts and photo markets. This $10.6 million asset purchase, funded by a combination of cash and stock, (some of which is subject to certain vesting requirements), includes the entire Monaco line of color management

Windy City Printer Upgrades Bindery CHICAGO—Schiele Graphics, a member of the Schiele Group, has purchased a Duplo System 4000 collator bookletmaker from Best Graphics. John Schiele, president, says that what got him excited about the machine was its ability to perform "intelligent collating," an add-on computer and software system that enables complex collating functions involving multiple components. alabama MONTGOMERY—Davis Printing has reportedly become the first printer in the state to employ FM screening. Creo's Prinergy workflow, two Intigris 800 proofers and a Trendsetter 800 Quantam are being used to produce 20 micron Staccato screening. The company plans to produce 90 percent of its

by chris bauer Read all about it: The latest generation of newspaper presses are more than black-and-white machines churning out The Daily Rag. Color is here to stay—and newspaper press manufacturers are providing a column's worth of features and automated functions to advance newspaper printing beyond its traditional role. "Ever increasing color expansion is an ongoing trend in the American and global newspaper market," says David Stamp, global director of marketing for Goss International. "This drives four-high tower addition projects to existing installed presses—a very topical subject in the United States in 2003." Stamp sees many of his customers investing in press enhancements to

Safeguard Acquired by NEBS DALLAS—New England Business Service (NEBS) plans to acquire Safeguard Business Systems in a $72.5 million all-cash transaction. The cash proceeds will be used to acquire all company stock, as well as to retire revolving loans and term loans with Safeguard's financial institutions. Safeguard will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. This is a strategic move for both companies, allowing each to create competitive advantages in the marketplace. The company employs approximately 850 people, primarily in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Milwaukee Paper Gets KBA Press MILWAUKEE—The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has installed three new Commander presses by KBA North America. The presses